Hannah Witheridge and David Miller 'seen on Thai CCTV'

  • Published
Undated handout file photos issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of Hannah Witheridge and David MillerImage source, PA

Two British tourists killed on a Thai island appeared on more than a dozen security cameras in their final hours, a court in Thailand has been told.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo deny murdering Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey.

Their bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao last September.

The men became suspects after they were spotted on CCTV that night on the same beach where the murders took place, AFP news agency reported.

The trial began earlier this month and, when it resumed on Wednesday, police told the court CCTV footage showed Ms Witheridge and Mr Miller visiting two bars on the island with friends, hours before they died.

According to the Reuters news agency, Police Colonel Cherdpong Chiewpreecha told the court how footage from 17 cameras along a road on the island helped investigators trace the British pair's movements.

It was played to the court which is on the neighbouring island of Koh Samui, where the trial is being heard in stages over the next two months.

A police officer previously told the trial of the severe injuries Miss Witheridge suffered and of the evidence that she had been raped. Mr Miller's body was discovered with severe head injuries several metres away, he said.

Image source, AFP/getty images
Image caption,

Zaw Lin, front, and Wai Phyo (also known as Win Zaw Htun), rear, arrive at the court in Koh Samui

DNA tests

The prosecution says a DNA match between samples found on Miss Witheridge's body and the two defendants is central to its case.

Defence lawyers had asked for the samples to be independently verified but have now been told there is nothing left of them to re-test.

Police have, however, agreed to hand over the garden hoe which was the murder weapon, along with a shoe and a plastic bag.

The discovery of the bodies last September sparked a major police investigation and intense local and international pressure to find those responsible.

Mr Zaw and Mr Wai (also known as Win Zaw Htun), both 22 and migrants from Myanmar, also known as Burma, were arrested several weeks later.

They are said to have confessed to the crime but later retracted their statements.

The defendants have repeatedly stated their innocence over the murders, with the defence alleging they were framed.

Verdicts in the case are not expected until October.